Review: Chais Monnet, Cognac – a luxury stay in cognac country

Hôtel Chais Monnet & Spa is an elegant former cognac house and a destination for top-notch dining, says Chris Carter

Chais Monnet
(Image credit: Chais Monnet / Albane Photographe)

It’s a rare hotel that takes pride in its mould. But then Hôtel Chais Monnet & Spa in Cognac, southwestern France, is no ordinary hotel. And Baudoinia compniacensis is no ordinary mould. The fungus is attracted to the alcohol in the air – the evaporation from the brandy resting in the casks, known as the angels’ shares – and it gives the surrounding buildings a blackish appearance. Chais Monnet has embraced it. 

The facade of the hotel’s modern glass blocks housing its guest bedrooms sports a similar dark hue, wrapped in ribbons of rusted metal to represent the vines growing in the surrounding Charente countryside. 

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.